In April 2014, Dr. S. Prakash, Head of the MBA Department at SNS College of Technology received a call from one of his old students who is currently working at one of the leading financial institutions in the United Arab Emirates. The student was on a lookout for prospective finance graduates to join his company. He thought about Dr. Prakash who had guided him and several others like him to reach the positions they were in now. He also knew that the students the professor guided would be exceptional and therefore without hesitation called Dr. Prakash to ask him about the same. "While it is not possible to remember all the students I have taught, I feel proud, accompanied with a sense of satisfaction, when they inform me how well they are doing in their careers and tell me who they have become today," says Dr. Prakash. Needless to say that the student did not make the call in vain.
Dr. Prakash who teaches Finance and International trade at SNS College of Technology with a lot of zeal and passion considers all the students as his friends and ensures that he is approachable at all times. A student who was interested in pursuing a career in finance was facing a lot of difficulties in understanding a number of the finance concepts. Despite losing hope of clearing the subject, she decided to go to Dr. Prakash as he was one of the best finance professors she was aware of who was able to explain any concept easily and practically. When she approached him she was surprised by the way he cleared all her doubts. With his guidance she was also able to pass the exams without any hassles.
Dr. Prakash believes that the MBA course needs to be more practical. He invites several CEOs and senior HR personnel from companies in various verticals to share their experiences on various topics to the faculty and the students of the institute. Some of these industry professionals have been invited by Dr. Prakash to become visiting faculty members as he believes some subjects need to be taught with a more practical approach.
The seminar sessions which are held every week ensure that the students and faculty are able to gain more practical knowledge. Utilizing these sessions the faculty members at the MBA Department were also able to provide a deeper insight on how to change the way they teach and therefore a new pedagogy was implemented. "It is important in making the students learn the practical applications of concepts through assignments, projects, case studies, internships and other methods which will help them solve real business problems," says Dr. Prakash. By utilizing these new methods, students were able to gain a clearer understanding of lessons and were also able improve their communication skills through the presentations they are made to conduct. Feeling that MBA students need to gain a deeper understanding of technical courses, Dr. Prakash has implemented various courses like SAP, .net and others.
Guidance and Advice
Although Dr. Prakash and his team teach the subjects to students in class, they also guide research candidates in carrying out their research in the fields of finance, marketing, finance and others. Through his academic tenure, he has guided more than eight students from various universities such as Anna University, Karunya University and others. He has also guided students from various parts of the country such as Kolkatta, Tripura, Bangalore and others. Despite being a faculty member in the field of finance, Dr. Prakash has gained a larger understanding of the other subjects in order to help the researchers and also students at times.
His advice to students is that they should utilize every opportunity the institute provides to the fullest. Dr. Prakash believes that students are brand ambassadors of the institute and the course they study. Therefore, he concludes saying, "My advice to teachers is that they should go beyond the requirements and provide students a variety of opportunities to gain the required skill sets which will help them get a good paying job."
Dr. S. Prakash, Head of MBA Department:
He is currently the Head of the MBA Department at SNS College of Technology and teaches Finance and International Trade to his students. He says, "I believe that with an increase in research activities in the field of management, the future students will able to gain a lot of job opportunities."
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